


Hold

by ferretsandtea



Series: Building Bridges [2]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: F/F, Post 5x11, jim is there but only for like half of a second and i don't think i even mentioned him by name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 09:05:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18588085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferretsandtea/pseuds/ferretsandtea
Summary: “Would you like me to hold her?” Lee asked, and Barbara clenched her jaw slightly, silently chastising herself for allowing Lee to notice her discomfort.(Or, Barbara decides to trust.)





	Hold

Barbara felt achy all over. She was absolutely sure that there wasn’t a single part of her body that didn’t hurt like hell. The only thing that even slightly dulled the pain was the warm little body bundled up in her arms, ushering out all the hurt and replacing it with a happy ache in her heart that was completely unlike anything she’d ever felt before. 

Even then, it was becoming a struggle to hold little Babs Jr., her arms shaking with what felt like the superhuman strength required to not collapse and let her newborn fall to the floor.

Barbara searched the room for any sort of distraction to take her mind off of the strain, her eyes drifting over to where Dr. Leslie Thompkins-Gordon was reuniting with her husband. It sent a pang through her that she didn’t want to look more into, but she reasoned in her mind that it had something to do with the fact that they weren’t offering her any help. 

Not that she would ever ask, and there’s no guarantee she would even accept it, but still. Manners and all that. 

Right as the thought crossed her mind, Lee’s eyes met hers from across the room. The other woman detached herself from Jim’s embrace and crossed the room over to Barbara. 

Barbara felt herself sag a bit at Lee’s approach, and Lee stopped about a foot in front of her, hands going into her coat pockets. 

“Would you like me to hold her?” Lee asked, and Barbara clenched her jaw slightly, silently chastising herself for allowing Lee to notice her discomfort. 

Barbara looked at Lee for a few long seconds, then held out her arms, allowing Lee to take the baby from her. 

Barbara let out a sigh of relief at being able to finally rest her arms, slumping slightly as she no longer needed to hold herself up as much. She couldn’t believe she was letting Lee hold her child, but she needed the break. 

“What’s her name?” Lee asked, voice softer and almost a coo as she looked down at the baby that was now in her arms. 

“Barbara Lee Gordon,” Barbara responded, eyes glancing away from Lee as she said the middle name. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to see the reaction to that. 

Regardless of if she wanted to see it or not, Barbara saw Lee’s full-body hesitation out of the corner of her eye, and then Lee looked up at her. Emotions flickered through her eyes- surprise, a bit of amusement, and an inexplicable fondness, as well as a smile that Barbara could tell Lee was struggling to keep down. 

Lee cleared her throat. “You named her Barbara?” She left the other question out. Maybe she could see that Barbara wouldn’t want to provide an explanation for that one. 

Barbara managed to curl her lips into a small smirk. “After the best person I know. “

Lee half scoffed, half laughed. “Of course you’d love nothing more than having two Barbaras running around.”

“Well, not running yet,” Barbara quipped. “The kid’s only a few hours old, give her at least a week before you start with all the expectations for her to live up to me.”

A small smile finally appeared on Lee’s face. “Yeah, she’s had a rough week. I guess she deserves some rest.” 

“Ya think?” Barbara said, smirk still in place but it was more genuine and less forced. 

Lee looked back down at Barbara Lee, and Barbara could swear that she saw a hint of a wistful sadness on the woman’s face. “Do you want her back?”

“Nah, you can hang onto her for a little while,” Barbara replied, throwing caution to the wind. Lee helped her deliver this baby, and she worked to keep them both alive, so she figures she can give her this for at least a little while. For some reason, Lee didn’t seem ready to hand her back just yet. “Just don’t drop her.”

“I won’t,” Lee whispered, gaze locked back on the baby. 

Watching Lee gently rock Barbara Jr., Barbara wholeheartedly believed her.


End file.
